How to Monitor Your Blood Sugar
How to Monitor Your Blood Sugar
Possibly one of the harder things to get used to after initially being diagnosed with diabetes is the blood checks you have to perform on yourself on a consistent basis. The blood checks will measure the amount of sugar in your blood, also known as your blood glucose level or blood sugar.
If your blood sugar gets too low or too high, as a diabetic, you can be in some serious trouble. Therefore, it’s very important that you keep regular track of your blood sugar, preferably logging it in some kind of journal to share with your doctor.
Typically, you’ll be checking your blood sugar around five times per day, every day. This may sound excessive, but your blood sugar changes a lot throughout the day, and you need to keep consistent track of it, or you may encounter some severe issues.
You should typically check your blood sugar levels before you eat a meal, so the results aren’t affected or skewed in any way. Before your next meal, your levels should have returned back to the base number.
This will give you a better idea of what your regular sugar levels are, and if they’re too high or too low. Depending on which glucose monitor you buy, your means of actually recording your sugar levels will be a bit different, but they’re all fairly similar.
Once you’re used to the process, it becomes like second nature, but at first it will be a bit difficult. Be sure that you continue getting the same lancets and test strips that go with your kit, though.
These are fairly inexpensive to replace, as 100 packs of both are available for under $20 for the test strips and under $5 for the lancets. First, you’ll clean and prepare the place you’re drawing blood from, as to avoid any chance of infection.
Next, you’ll use the lancing device to prick your finger. This sounds scary at first, but it’s typically pretty painless. Be sure to use the side of your fingertip instead of the pad, because the pad has more nerve endings and it will hurt more.
Finally, you’ll touch the test strip to the blood drop and wait for the meter to show your results. Depending on a lot of different factors, the healthy glucose level can differ greatly, so be sure to consult your doctor and find out what range you should be aiming for.
